This Day in Walter O’Malley History:
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Dodger scout Andy High writes a memo to a Brooklyn front office employee on the work going on to prepare the new Holman Stadium for Spring Training play. High writes of the number of persons working on the field getting it ready for the March 11th dedication ceremonies. “Mr. O’Malley is having more fun this spring with the new park than he has ever had in any previous spring training camp. Fresco (Thompson, Dodger Vice President) and I were helping him (O’Malley) rake up and roll the infield this morning...It really is a beautifull (sp.) field and one that we will all be proud of.”
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Johnny Podres, the left-handed pitching hero of the 1955 World Series, is ready to enter the United States Navy. Podres told Walter O’Malley, “I’m going to be with Uncle Sam for the next two years, but tell all the folks I’ll be back to pitch the first game in the new stadium.” In 1956, Podres was referring to a new stadium in Brooklyn that O’Malley expended all efforts to obtain, but eventually it was Podres who threw the first pitch at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on April 10, 1962.
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Sixty-six invited guests of Walter O’Malley take a one-day trip to the Grand Bahamas. It was the Dodger President’s 12th annual Spring Training safari. The Dodger party boarded the Dodger Electra plane at 9 a.m. from Vero Beach, Florida en route to the Grand Bahamas Hotel. Dodger player wives, members of the media and other guests enjoyed golf, the beach, a visit to Freeport and dinner. In previous years, O’Malley has hosted safaris in Puerto Rico, Nassau, Montego Bay, Havana and Mexico City. Bob Hunter, The Sporting News, March 27, 1965
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Walter O’Malley says two cities in Japan are ready for the major leagues with a stadium, player talent, economic backing, public enthusiasm and support from the press. “Japan has an abundance of talent,” said O’Malley. “Nobody ever has given a valid reason why we can’t have major league clubs in Montreal and Toronto, either.” Paul Zimmerman, The Sporting News, March 9, 1968
